A Day in a Wheelchair: Mall Accessibility Experience

First Impressions and Getting There

"Okay, this should be a piece of cake," I thought to myself after reading the guidelines for this assignment. After all, my friend's wife still had the manual wheelchair she had used when she broke her ankle the previous year, and it was just sitting there holding dirty laundry and books. She readily agreed to lend it to me for this project. This initial assessment, however, quickly went south as soon as I tried to load the wheelchair into my car for a trip to the local mall to see what life was like from a new perspective. The wheelchair did not fit in the trunk, and I had to struggle to squeeze it into the backseat, tearing my seat covering in the process.

Navigating the Parking Garage

Unfortunately, things did not get any easier when I reached the mall. While I did have a wheelchair, I did not have a handicapped parking permit, so I was forced to park on an upper floor of the mall's multi-level garage. Committed to realism, I went alone, and the only concession I made to not staying in the wheelchair was during the loading and unloading phases. As a result, I was stuck on the third floor, wheeling myself to the nearest elevator, which was located at the far end of the parking level — and the trip was uphill all the way. After reaching the elevator, I found that my shoulders were already aching and my hands were cramping. Still undaunted, I took the elevator to the ground floor and wheeled myself into the nearest mall entrance, thanks in part to the kindness of a stranger who held the door open for me.

Moving Through the Mall

Although I had been to this mall dozens of times in the past, this visit was unique for a number of reasons — most especially the difficulties I experienced navigating through clusters of people and being forced to use the mall elevators rather than the more conveniently located escalators and stairs to which I was accustomed. It was also interesting, but slightly unsettling, to watch other people's reactions to my using a wheelchair when I had no obvious physical disability to account for it. Accessibility barriers in public spaces are often invisible to those who do not regularly encounter them, and this visit made that reality vivid.

Notwithstanding these minor difficulties, I did manage to enjoy the modestly exhilarating feeling of moving quickly on the smooth floors when there were no crowds around. This feeling quickly evaporated, however, when I got thirsty and tried to order a Diet Coke from a vendor at the food court. All of the vendors had long lines, so I naturally selected the shortest one and got in line behind a family of three — a couple with a young boy of about five years old.